Lath-cutting machine



October 22, 19125.

DRAWING A careful search has been made this day for the original drawingor a photolithographic copy of the same, for the purpbse of repreducingthe said. drawing to form a part of this book, but at this time ngthingcan be found from which a. reproduction can be made.

Finis D. Morris,

Chief of Division E.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SOLOMON F. FINGH AND JAMES WHEELER, OF ROOTSTOWN, OHIO.

LATE-CUTTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 4,147, dated August 16, 1845.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SOLOMON F. FINoH and JAMEs WHEELER, of Rootstown,Portage county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Machine for CuttingLaths from Bolts or Blocks of Wood, and that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the principle or character thereof whichdistinguishes it from all other things before known and of the manner ofconstructing and using the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which make part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 isa top view of the machine, with the covering of the frame removed toexhibit the moving parts more distinctly. Fig. 2 a transverse verticalsection taken at the line (X-X), and Fig. 3 an end view of the carriageseparate from the other parts at the line 0 of Fig. l.

The same letters are used to designate like parts in all the figures.

Machines have long since been made for cutting laths in which the blockof wood is carried against the edge of a. permanent knife, and thendrawn back to permit the block to descend onto a bed preparatory toanother out; but in all machines of this kind, heretofore known, theblock has not been gripped and held tight during the operation ofcutting and drawing back the block, which is a decided defect for it iswell known that what is termed a clean cut cannot be made from a blockof wood which is not held firm when presented to the action of thecutter, and although this has been effected in machines in which theknife is carried against the block instead of the block against theknife, it has not been effected in a manner so simple as that inventedby us, and presents an objection avoided by our invention, viz:retaining the grip on the block until it has been carried back clear ofthe edge of the knife before being liberated to permit its descent on tothe bedthe manner of effecting these important ends constitutes theessential character of our invention.

In the accompanying drawings (A) represents the frame of the machineproperly adapted to the moving parts of the machine, and (B) a block towhich is properly secured the knife (C), of the length required forcutting laths. The bed (D) on which the face of the bolt or block ofwood rests, to gage the thickness of the laths, is properly secured tothe ends of the frame, and may then be provided withscrews or wedges toadapt the machine to the cutting of laths of different thicknesses. Thecarriage for holding and carrying the bolt or block of wood slidesbetween the end pieces of the frame, and is guided in its horizontalmovement by the bed (D), on which it rests, and the cleats (F, F). Thiscarriage is made in two parts; the inner one (G) consists of a lowerplate (9) on which the end pieces of the outer one slide, and a verticalclamp plate (h), which, together with the front clamp plate (6), of theouter part, constitutes the clamp for gripping and holding the bolt orblock of wood; these two parts are connected together by a bow spring(H), the middle attached to a block (2') projecting from the bottomplate of the inner part of the carriage, and the ends fitted in pocketsin the end pieces of the outer part of the carriage, so that by thetension of this spring the bolt or block of wood is gripped firmlybetween the two clamp plates of the carriage.

Back of the carriage, and turning on journals (a) (represented by dottedlines) is a rocking shaft (I) provided with a lever to be worked by handor any other motive force. To the lower edge of this rocking shaft ishinged, by staples and pins or by other means, the lower plate (g) ofthe inner part of the carriage, so that when the lever of the rockingshaft is moved down, the bolt or blocks is carried against the edge ofthe knife (C), by which a lath is severed from it, and on the reversemovement of the rocking shaft, the carriage, with the 'bolt or blockstill gripped, is drawn back until it has passed the edge of the knife,at which time the end pieces of the outer part of the carriage havereached and rest against the upper edge of the rocking shaft (which ison a line with its journals), and hence the continued movement of therocking shaft will draw the inner part of the carriage, contract thespring, and thus liberate the bolt or block that then descends bygravity on to the bed, which gages it for another lath.

The motive power may be applied to the rocking shaft in any mannerdesired.

We are aware that machines for cutting laths have been made with acarriage to carry the bolt or block against the edge of a knife, andthat the bolt or block has been bolt or block to the knife in tWo parts,moving on each other and connected together by a spring, or analogousdevice, so that 15 the bolt is gripped While being carried against theedge of the knife, and still gripped until drawn back of the edge of theknife, and then liberated for the purpose and in the mannersubstantially as herein 20 described.

SOLOMON F. FINOH.

. JAMES WHEELER. WVitnesses C. W. M. KELLER, GEO. C. JACKSON.

